Oxygen is an allotropic element, with the most common form of the gas being the di-atomic form (O.sub.2). Ozone (O.sub.3) and singlet oxygen (.sup.1 O.sub.2) are other forms of the gas that occur naturally and that can be created artificially. Ozone is the triatomic form of oxygen and is relatively unstable. One method of creating ozone is to expose O.sub.2 gas (pure medical oxygen) to laser light having a wave length of about 180 to 187 nm. Other methods of forming ozone are well known. Singlet oxygen is the monatomic form of oxygen and is highly unstable. One method of creating singlet oxygen is to expose ozone to ultra-violet light of a wavelength of 253.7 nm. It is also known to expose a mixture of oxygen gas containing ozone and singlet oxygen to visible light of a wavelength of between about 500 and 800 nm to further induce the formation of singlet oxygen. Other methods of forming singlet oxygen are well known.
The benefits of ozone gas molecules (O.sub.3) and singlet oxygen gas molecules (.sup.1 O.sub.2) are well known in the medical community for treatment of blood and human tissue in order to fight disease or other pathogens, or at least to ameliorate the effects thereof. Many diseases have been shown to be positively effected through the administration of ozone and singlet oxygen. Ozone has been found to kill cancer cells, to be effective against various viruses and fungi, and to inactivate a wide variety of bacteria including Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, Staphylococcus Aureus and Mycobacterium Tuberculosis. Ozone has also been found to have disruptive effects on malignant tumour cells. The administration of ozone is also known to have beneficial effects to a person's health in general by way of stimulating oxygen metabolism. Studies of the effects of singlet oxygen indicate similar or even more dramatic effects. It has also been shown that the administration of ozone and singlet oxygen to a healthy person, through direct inhalation, can help prevent various diseases, such as those discussed above.
One very important use of ozone and singlet oxygen is in the sterilization treatment of blood for blood that is being removed from a donor and administered to a recipient. Through the use of ozone and singlet oxygen, it is possible to deactivate a variety of potential viral contaminants of blood, including HIV-1 and Hepatitis.
It is known to introduce ozone and singlet oxygen directly to diseased tissue. Alternatively, the ozone and singlet oxygen may first be introduced to a carrier liquid such as USP water or blood, and then the carrier liquid may be introduced to the diseased tissue or injected into a person's bloodstream, as appropriate. In order to treat a person having a given disease, an alequot of blood is drawn from the person, the alequot is treated, and is then injected back into the person. Units of blood used for transfusion are each separately treated and subsequently used as necessary.
The introduction of ozone and singlet oxygen gas molecules to a person's blood, or even to USP water, is a problematic process. It is desirable to have the gas molecules introduced as quickly as possible to the carrier liquid in order to minimize time and expense. However, quick introduction of these gas molecules through the use of prior art technology can readily cause a formation of bubbles, which is undesirable, and also can lead to haemolysis--the destruction of the cell walls of the red blood cells and the subsequent loss of haemoglobin therefrom.
What is not known is how to properly and effectively introduce required quantities of ozone or singlet oxygen into a liquid carrier in an efficient manner, so that a reasonably high volume alequot of blood can be treated in a relatively short period of time, with causing bubbling and potentially causing haemolysis of blood.